Vote Now! The Best Space Photos of 2011

They Came From Space!

The year 2011 was a huge one for space photography, with NASA's historic final space shuttle missions and dazzling views of the sun, auroras and the cosmos.

It wasn't easy, but we pulled 50 of the most amazing views from space in 2011 for you to review. But which one is the best? Vote now and decide!

Shuttle Launch From Above

Photo Credit: NASA Kennedy (via Twitter)

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Shuttle Launch From Above

The breathtaking final launch of the space shuttle Atlantis on July 8 was captured in an incredible photo snapped from an airborne training aircraft NASA uses to teach astronauts how to fly the winged spaceship. [Read More]

NEXT: World's Most Complex Radio Telescope Snaps Stunning 1st Photo of the Cosmos

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World's Most Complex Radio Telescope Snaps Stunning 1st Photo of the Cosmos

Photo Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)

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World's Most Complex Radio Telescope Snaps Stunning 1st Photo of the Cosmos

After years of planning, construction and assembly, a gigantic observatory billed as the world's most complex array of ground-based telescopes has opened its eyes in South America and captured its first image. The ALMA telescope in Chile is up and running. [Full Story]

NEXT: Air Force's Nighttime Rocket Launch

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Air Force's Nighttime Rocket Launch

Photo Credit: Neil Winston

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Air Force's Nighttime Rocket Launch

When a U.S. Air Force rocket blasted off from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va., it lit up the late-night sky with a spectacular 11:09 p.m. EDT liftoff.

Skywatcher Neil Winston snapped this amazing photo of the Minotaur 1 rocket launch carrying the ORS-1 satellite on June 29, 2011. Winston took the photo from a beach in Lusby, Md., overlooking Chesapeake Bay near NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, where the rocket launched. [See More Dazzling Rocket Launch Photos]